Surface analysis of ZIRLO alloy implanted with carbon

ZIRLO alloy specimens were implanted with carbon ions with fluence range from 1 x 10(16) to 1 x 10(18) ions (center dot) cm(-2), using a MEVVA source at an extraction voltage of 40 kV at maximum temperature of 380 degrees C. The surfaces of the implanted samples were then analyzed and the TRIM 96 computer code was used to simulate the depth distribution of carbon. The valences of elements in the implanted surface of ZIRLO alloy were analyzed by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS); and then the depth distributions of the elements on the surface of the samples were obtained by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to examine the micro-morphology of implanted samples. Glancing angle X-ray diffraction (GAXRD) at 0.30 incident angles was employed to examine the phase transformations of implanted samples. It shows that the as-received ZIRLO alloy is mainly composed of hexagonal alpha zirconium, as for implanted samples, there appeared hexagonal zirconia (H-ZrO0.35) and sigma zirconium carbide (delta-Zr3C2), and the delta-Zr3C2 increased when increasing the fluence. When the fluence reached 1 x 10(18) ions (center dot) cm(-2), the concentration of delta Zr3C2 is the maximum in all the samples. The micro-morphology of implanted samples are similar, there are many pits with diameters ranging from 1 to 3 mu m on the implanted surfaces.